Twin Flames: Fire & Fury
by Adoration of an Enigma
Summary: (Sequel to Of Beauty & Rage: Renegades) The Chunin Exams are a subject none of the Akatsuki, let alone Sakura and Pain, want to address with Amaya Haruno. It had been three years since Amaya returned, broken and faded from her first exams. When Amaya suddenly decides to take the exams once more, everyone is on edge. Amaya is ready, because what could possibly go wrong this time?


Welcome back everyone! I am extremely happy to announce this sequel to Renegades: Of Beauty & Rage. This is a story that has been bugging me for awhile, and I hope you accept this story and love it just as much as Renegades! I am happy to be back to writing, and am excited to hear what everyone has to say. I hope to make this a lengthy story just as Renegades, and have most of the main events planned out already! So excited! Just as before, song lyrics will be added to the beginning of the chapter to set the mood for the chapter. Feel free to listen to the song as you read, because I took inspiration from it to write the chapter!

Anyways, without further rambling from me, please read and enjoy the first chapter of Twin Flames: Fire & Fury!

* * *

Chapter One

" _F_ _eels like I'm falling,_

 _Into a world,_ _  
_ _Into a world,_ _  
_ _I can't control,_ _  
_ _I hear it calling,_ _  
_ _Down in my soul,_ _  
_ _Grippin' my bones,_ _  
_ _It won't let go._

 _Feels like I'm frozen,_ _  
_ _Nowhere to run,_ _  
_ _Nowhere to run, from here,_ _  
_ _These walls are closing,_ _  
_ _Closing me in,_ _  
_ _Wearing me thin, with fear."_

~ _Bad Dream_ , by Ruelle

* * *

" _Help me, Amaya. Why won't you help me?" he screamed, eyes wide. "What are you doing? Stop crying!"_

 _Hands shaking, Amaya stared wide eyed at her two teammates. She had known death for most of her life. She had brought about death before, but by accident. Never on purpose. She had never seen someone she loved die._

"Amaya _."_

 _Taking a step forward, a kunai came from behind her, slicing her cheek before embedding in Haku's chest. He fell back, still._

 _Frozen, Amaya felt her mind go blank. She was going to die._

Amaya jolted awake, eyes snapping open. Breathing heavily, her eyes worked to focus on the ceiling which reflected the dim light given off by her fish tank. Bringing a hand up to rest on her forehead, Amaya sighed. She had hoped, after her productive day yesterday, she would sleep soundly. 'Hoped' being the key word, because, subconsciously, she had known she wouldn't. She never did anymore.

Amaya pushed herself up on a groan, her stiff muscles aching. She'd been hard on herself yesterday since no one had been in the base, which meant she could scream her frustrations without anyone around to question her sanity. Well, except Raiden. But the pipsqueak never said anything about Amaya. It had been a rare occurrence to be left alone without any of the other members. The past couple years had left Amaya feeling as if she had a longer leash of privacy, though, so that was something to internally celebrate.

The more she moved, the more she realized she was drenched in sweat. Her sheets were a lost cause as well. The clock read 3:30 a.m., her usual time to be awake and moving around.

'Time to go,' she tiredly thought, wishing she could sleep in. Just once. To be honest, as soon as she awoke from her chronic nightmares she couldn't imagine going back to sleep. Her body was aching with so much adrenaline that it was hard to lay comfortably, so it was a blessing to stand and start her day.

Yawning, she stretched her arms and legs, cracking her toes before she slid out of bed. Gathering her sheets, she tossed them in the basket across the room. She hid the evidence of her nightly ordeals like normal.

Pulling some running pants and a crop top from her drawers, she dressed and contemplated whether to eat before or after her run. As she pulled on her socks and running shoes, she decided a banana and some almonds wouldn't fill her stomach too much to give her running cramps.

The adrenaline running through her veins was enough to make her want to scream. Every morning was the same routine: wake up in a cold sweat, eat a light breakfast, go for a run, and come back to play out the day. Sometimes she took a shower to try and ease the ache or the energy, but there was no point if she was going for a run anyways. It was so monotonous it became infuriating to deal with. Sure, she had her missions from dad—well, Pain. Dad for all intents and purposes. The missions were usually low rank and easy to accomplish. Rarely was she given anything Class A. Those she stole from his office and appeared back at headquarters a few days later with the finished report. Hence why her missions were few and far between. Punishments usually kept one busy around the base. Oh well.

The hallway was dimly lit, but easy enough to navigate. She knew these halls like the back of her hand. Better. So, when she saw a light from the library just past the residence halls it struck her as odd. Well, until she realized Raiden had probably never gone to bed. 'Little shit,' she thought lovingly.

Poking her head through the doorway, she had been correct on her assumptions. Raiden sat curled up in a plush armchair, a thick book cradled in his lap.

"Mom and Dad are going to kill you when they find out you never went to bed," Amaya stated, leaning against the doorway with her hand on her hip.

Without looking up, Raiden replied, "Well, if they ever find out I pulled an all-nighter I guess they'll have to be made aware of how you trained so hard yesterday you ripped tendons and tore muscle. Again. How convenient. Two for two." He flipped the page, eyes trained on the page.

Amaya narrowed her eyes. "Touché, little brother."

Raiden focused on his book for another moment before he sighed, flipped through a couple more pages, and snapped the thick book closed. "Three-thirty already?" he asked, stretching out over the chair and glancing at his sister.

"Unfortunately," Amaya responded, and nodded towards the book. "What are you reading now?"

Raiden flipped the book over in his hands, then back to the cover. "Some medical book from Mom's bookshelf. I like how it outlines the procedures in text instead of pictures."

"You're ten, Raiden," Amaya reminded her brother, tone skeptical. "You do know that, right?"

"And?" Raiden said through a yawn, sliding from the chair with the book in his hand. "What do you want me to be doing?"

"I don't know, color something or go play in the dirt," Amaya offered, running a hand through her long, white hair. She paused, grabbing at her wrist, and cursed. "I'll be back, I forgot a—"

"Here," Raiden grabbed something from the side-table, and flicked it at her. "Mom is going to kill you if she finds anymore laying around."

Amaya caught the hair-tie, and worked her hair up into a messy bun. "They can bite me."

"Don't say that to Kisame, he just might," Raiden joked, but his voice held a serious tone. His eyes were distant as if he were imagining the situation before he shivered and came back to the conversation. "Going for a run?"

"Duh, little dude." Amaya tightened her messy bun and glanced down at her watch. "Of which I will be late for if I talk anymore. Get to bed."

"Why? Then Mom and Dad will know I stayed up all night. What is the point of an all-nighter if it isn't an _all-nighter_?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "I think I'm going to go raid the pantry."

"Take advantage of the sleep before something comes along and ruins it," Amaya murmured as Raiden joined her on their hunt for breakfast.

"You know, if you talked to someone you might be able to get rid of those nightmares. And healing yourself after your training sessions, then overworking them the next day again isn't good. You're going to permanently damage—," Raiden began to reason before Amaya cut him off.

"You can be quiet now," she said, her tone full of preppy finality as she pushed him aside.

"You cannot silence the thunder god," Raiden jarred, tone full of exasperated sarcasm. His eyes were playfully large, and he held his arms out until one hit his sister.

Pursing her lips, Amaya only laughed and smacked his arm away. "Oh God, you got Dad's ego with Mom's brains. You poor, poor creature."

"Creature? I couldn't be a—a—human? A brother?" Raiden scoffed, turning on the light to the kitchen and heading straight for the pantry.

Amaya 'hmm'ed' as she pulled out a banana and the almonds. "Would an 'it' mean more to you?"

He groaned loud and obnoxiously while Amaya simply laughed.

She grabbed her water, ate some almonds, and leaned against the counter. "What time are Mom and Dad supposed to be back?"

Raiden poured himself a large—very large—bowl of sugary cereal. "Six-thirty, maybe seven. I want to say seven. The other members will trickle in before or after then."

"In other words, I need to get a move on if I want to enjoy my run in peace," Amaya mused, finishing the almonds and tearing into her banana. "Got it."

"Exactly, Fat-Face."

Amaya choked, coughing up bits of chewed and unchewed banana into her hand.

Raiden laughed, grabbing his belly. "Oh, wasn't that attractive and oh so delicious. Wait—no—I didn't mean it!"

She lunged after Raiden as he rounded the kitchen island, laughing as she chased him. "I am going to tie you to a kitchen chair for Mom and Dad to find!" she shouted, hand nearly grasping the back of his shirt before he slipped away.

"You better get on with your stupid run before they get here!" Raiden countered, sliding over the table to gain some distance between them.

Amaya groaned, slowed her pursuit, and finally snatched her water off the counter. "Go to bed, pipsqueak."

Raiden, sticking out his tongue, shook his head. "Make me!"

Amaya only waved over her shoulder as she grabbed her headphones and music-player.

* * *

She pounded out the two-miles to the normal point where she would turn and head back to base, but she hesitated at the marker. The first half of her run had gone faster than she expected this morning, so why not extend it? Hesitating a moment more, she finally took off straight towards the small village the group often got their supplies from. It was also where they all shopped for other needs as well. Amaya would mainly head there for shopping or to the movies. Sometimes for ice-cream if she and Raiden needed a break. The extra two-miles would go by fast, and quite possibly get rid of the adrenaline that still coursed strongly through her veins.

Headphones in her ears, it was easy to focus on her feet hitting the packed earth before the view of the village appeared after another two miles. Running was easy for Amaya. Pounding feet, racing heart-beat, adrenaline running rampant, and breathing even. The sounds enabled her to focus, and it was easy to control what was going on. She controlled the situation, and, therefore, her emotions. This was easy to manage, so why was she so uneasy?

Reaching the edge of the village, Amaya continued into the market. It was early, so not many people were awake. Shinobi scattered the village, walking to and from their destinations, some into motels and others just passing through.

She finally slowed to a stop when she reached the fruit stand her mother and she often visited. The sun was beginning to peak on the horizon, so Amaya knew she shouldn't stay long in town. Who would care, though? Everyone knew that she went for runs. She was out of the boundaries her father had set for the group, though, so if she was back to her marker in another hour—six o'clock—she would be okay.

"Amaya, dear, what are you doing here so early?" Namiyo Tagawa asked from the doorway to her home that stood just behind their fruit stand.

Amaya pulled the buds from her ears and grinned. "Just taking the long route for my run, Mrs. Tagawa. Did I bother you?"

Namiyo waved Amaya off, holding up a basket of fresh fruit. "Just restocking for the day. Come, why don't you sit for a little while? Indulge an old woman. My lazy grandson isn't awake yet."

Amaya laughed, conceding. "Sure," she agreed. She had time to spare. She came around to sit on the stool inside the stand. "I didn't know you got up so early."

Namiyo winked. "There isn't any rest for the wicked, now is there?"

She knew about the Akatsuki and what they did. Their missions, their goals. She supported their views, though, which was why she helped supply the fresh fruit funneled to their base. The woman was stubborn and called a situation as she saw it, but she was just as kind and caring towards those who deserved it.

Amaya smiled. "No, ma'am."

Namiyo nodded and tossed an apple for Amaya to catch. "For you, don't worry about it."

Amaya opened her mouth to protest, but she settled for smiling and nodding. Taking a bite, she sat in comfortable silence while Namiyo stocked her wares.

"Did you know," Namiyo started, making Amaya perk up and take notice, "that Kenko is taking part in this year's Chunin exams? I have little faith with how lazy he is, but he is excited. Poor boy, though, when he realizes how much work it will be. Are you going to participate this year, dear?"

Amaya froze, taking a slow bite into her apple. She didn't meet Namiyo's inquisitive gaze. Finally, Amaya shook her head. "I don't think so, Mrs. Tagawa. I don't have a team." _Anymore_.

Namiyo did that clucking most mothers made in disapproval. Amaya's mother had started doing that, and it made her smile at the comparison. "Dear, you are about to turn eighteen. You are only a Genin with so much more potential. I know you want to unlock all those great doors they always speak of, yes? I will be right back."

Amaya held her breath. Sure she did. She wanted to be so much more than she thought capable of herself, which is why she pushed herself past her breaking point each day. It was why she forced her muscles to take the beatings they did. She needed to get better, not only for herself, but for—

"Here it is!" Namiyo cried softly, coming out of the doorway into the little stand again. She held a scroll out to Amaya. "Take this, we had an extra for anyone else wanting to participate. Kenko sent his scroll in yesterday. They are changing the conditions this year. Singles may apply, without a team. Which was perfect for Kenko, his laziness made him a terrible teammate."

Namiyo stammered on, rolling her eyes at her grandson's antics. She hardly took notice of the expression on Amaya's face, or how the color had drained from her face. Settling from her rambling, Namiyo sighed. "If you choose, go ahead. If not, give it to someone else who may need it."

Amaya took in the sight of the scroll just as she would observe a rattle-snake. The hand that held the apple fell to her lap while she slowly chewed.

"Take it, Amaya. Don't just stare at it," Namiyo said a little more forcefully, shaking the scroll.

Amaya swallowed and hesitantly took the scroll. She flinched like it would burn her, shock her, anything, but all it did was weigh her palm down as any scroll would.

"I think the proper response would be 'thank you,'" Namiyo said slowly, motherly eyes narrowing.

Amaya jerked her eyes towards Namiyo, nodding her head. "Thank you, Mrs. Tagawa," she quickly said, stumbling over the words.

Namiyo smiled, and picked her basket back up to continue stocking fruit. "Alright dear, I think you better head out. It must be six o'clock by now."

Amaya's body jerked, eyes going wide and straight to her watch. "Crap—I mean—"

Namiyo nodded. "Go, go!" she waved, smiling wide.

Amaya looked grateful. "Thank you, Mrs. Tagawa! See you sometime!" she called over her shoulder as she finished her apple, threw the core in the trash, and took off at a run. That's what she got for relaxing too long. Now Dad was most _definitely_ going to kill her.

Scroll in hand, she ran past a few young men arguing. "Where did you get that? I need a Chunin exam scroll! Why on earth did you get one, lazy?" the black-haired teen shouted to the next.

Amaya hesitated, taking note of the conversation. She did. She wanted nothing to do with the Exams. Not now, not ever. Something in her hesitated, though. Raiden had said to talk to someone and the nightmares would go away. Maybe. What if she could do something better? She knew her abilities. She had stolen many Class A missions and had succeeded at every one of them. She knew herself better than anyone. It had been three years since she had first taken the Chunin Exams. She had trained harder, faster, and with more intensity every day than she had before her last Exams. For three years she had trained, killing herself every day to become better, because she had to.

Amaya gripped the scroll, and picked up the pace towards the base at a flat out run. There was no time for jogging if she were to make it to the boundaries before her parents.

* * *

Amaya came to a stop in the clearing around the main door, exhausted from the speed she had maintained. She had left Mrs. Tagawa at six o'clock and managed to make it back by seven. Pretty decent seeing as it took her two hours to get to the village before. She was getting better without using any chakra. Now, her legs felt like Jell-O and all she wanted was to take a shower to cleanse herself of the thick sheen of sweat covering her whole body.

Pushing against the door, Amaya emerged into the foyer that led into the large atrium. Two staircases lined the sides of the room, with two hallways leading off to other rooms in the front and two hallways leading off to other parts of the base behind the staircases. The hallway straight ahead led to the kitchen, dining hall, and spacious living room.

Amaya attempted to take the right hallway behind the staircase. She really did, but there was more noise than she expected to hear coming from the kitchen. She paused for a moment to hear who it was and in that small moment Kisame noticed her hesitation from the hallway enough to call out to her.

"Amaya! Hey, girl! Come get some breakfast!" Kisame called, and she inwardly groaned. Great. Why did she always have to hesitate? Without pockets, she couldn't hide the scroll in her hand.

She turned on her heels, slowly, and made her way to the kitchen while looking for a place to hide the scroll. Kisame sat at the small table situated to the right in the kitchen and grinned at her. He knew she was trying to escape notice by the shit eating grin he wore, and Amaya only gave him a flat stare. Bastard.

When he looked away for a moment, she stashed the scroll behind the bread on the counter.

Glancing around the room, she took notice of Deidara making a sandwich, Itachi pulling out something from the fridge, and—

' _No_ ,' Amaya inwardly screamed, her eyes landing on her mother at the stove heating the kettle of water. How long had they been back? Amaya swallowed, and Kisame only grinned wider when their gazes collided. That could only mean someone had remarked on her absence, and not in a good way.

"Asshole," Amaya mouthed at him when no one was looking.

"Good morning," she then said to everyone, and was answered with varying, tired remarks.

"Enjoy your run?" her mother asked, back still turned to her, and Amaya really tried not to flush harder than she already was from the four-mile trek. Her mother did not sound happy; she more sounded like she wanted an explanation that Amaya wasn't going to give. She could slip past her mother on these things, but never her dad. Never Pain.

"Yeah, a bit foggy this morning," she remarked, running her hand over her hair and felt the frizz sticking up. More evidence of her crazed run back to base. Her eyes went a little wide as she pulled her hair out immediately to smooth it over and remake her messy bun. Today was really going to be great, wasn't it?

"Did you miss us?" Deidara asked, grinning as he licked the peanut butter from his finger.

"Not really," Amaya joked at the same time her mother turned, and, noticing the finger lick, pushed at his shoulder and said, "Gross."

Deidara managed to feign looking offended at both women. "What? Not even a tear for our absence?" he asked, then turned to her mom. "I'm sorry. Did you want a sandwich?"

"Not now," her mother replied, nose scrunched in disgust.

Deidara pointed at Amaya with his peanut butter covered knife. "Do you want one?"

Amaya shook her head, "No, thanks."

Her mother gave her a look, genuinely smiling. "Do you want me to make you something?"

Amaya only shook her head, her stomach still unhappy from the run. If she could vomit she would, but what she had earlier in the day had digested long ago along with the apple Mrs. Tagawa had given her.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, and Amaya, again, inwardly groaned. Well, there went her cover. Her mother knew she didn't eat when her stomach was upset, either from stress or a hard workout. Lovely.

"On second thought, sandwich me," she said to Dei, and raised her hands to accept the tossed sandwich wrapped in a paper towel he threw at her. She 'mmm'd' at the smell. "Peanut butter and banana?"

Deidara scoffed. "What else would I indulge in?"

Amaya just grinned and took a bite. At least if she threw up now she wouldn't be needless gagging.

Raiden pushed into the room next to her then, feigning a yawn. Or maybe he wasn't faking. Either way, Amaya merely rolled her eyes at the charade.

"Good morning, everyone," he said, heading to the pantry.

' _Probably for more sugary cereal,_ ' she surmised.

When he received a happier greeting from the group, Amaya held her arms out in surprise. "What was that? I get mumbles and he gets happy greetings? The injustice."

Kisame laughed. "You got to understand, princess, we're more awake than we were five minutes ago."

Amaya huffed an exaggerated sigh. "Injustice, I say," she mumbled.

Silence ensued save for the sounds of breakfast being made before Kisame struck up a conversation with her mom. They all truly looked more awake now that they had indulged in their coffee and were able to rest. Amaya was okay to be ignored, though, because that meant she could slip away slowly after she finished her sandwich.

When she was done, she turned to find Raiden pulling a bagel from the where the scroll was hidden. ' _Oh, excellent_ ,' she thought, tensing, ' _please don't_ -'

Noticing the scroll, Raiden pulled it out with the lettering down. He went to turn it, looking confused, but Amaya snatched it from his hands. With their backs turned to the group, no one noticed the interaction.

"Let it go, pipsqueak," Amaya whispered in a hushed voice.

"Why? What is it? You didn't leave with it," Raiden commented, trying to snatch it back.

"Let it go," Amaya commanded, eyes narrowed as she turned. Hurriedly trying to leave, Raiden suddenly jumped and grabbed the scroll.

"Stop, Raiden," Amaya snarled her whisper. God, why did he have to be so anno—

The scroll flew from their tangled hands and rolled to the doorway, Amaya grateful she could grab it and run until it hit someone's foot. Amaya froze as her Dad leaned to pick the scroll up, and she finally drew her eyes up to meet his.

She grimaced as he turned it over in his hands, knowing when he read the seal, because he tensed instantaneously.

Amaya stood up straight then, swallowing the permanent lump in her throat. She hadn't known how to bring the topic up to her parents, if ever. She had decided to take a chance and re-enter the exams, though, but fear kept the scroll tight in her hands on her run instead of reading it.

"The Chunin Exams," he stated, more of a question to Amaya. He nailed her with an emotionless stare and the room quieted behind them immediately. "Where did you get this?"

Amaya hesitated. "Mrs. Tagawa gave it to me."

Her Dad would know who that was. He turned the scroll over in his hands once, inspecting it. "When did she give this to you?" he asked.

Amaya winced at the small amount of conviction in his voice. "This morning."

Pain was silent for a moment, staring at Amaya, but she couldn't bear to meet his eyes for more than a few moments. Her eyes settled on his chest. She held her chin high, though, because it was time. Time to try and end the nightmares and sleepless nights. Wasn't it?

She could feel all eyes on her back. All she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and hide. What had she done? She hadn't prepared for the yelling, the screaming, but her dad merely tossed the scroll back to her instead.

Catching it, Amaya held it tight in shock.

"Come to me later. We need to talk about your running path if its taking you out of the boundaries," he said, and that was the end. No more.

Her heart beat loudly, deafening in her ears making it hard to concentrate. She wanted to turn and shove Raiden away. Yell at him. Something for causing this. But she could hardly be mad since this conversation had gone unexpectedly in a direction she hadn't anticipated.

Nodding, she slipped past her dad back into the hall leading to the foyer. She had to work hard not to run to her room and scream. The sandwich weighed even heavier on her upset stomach now.

What had she done?

* * *

Sakura stared at Pain in shock. The others stared at the spot where Amaya had been standing moments before. When her footsteps faded, her eyes turned to Raiden who looked sheepishly nervous.

"I didn't mean to—"

Sakura waved her hand. "No, don't feel bad at all. Here, take your cereal and head to the living room. You can eat in there today," she said, voice sweet with a smile on her face.

Raiden smiled hesitantly, still looking nervous as he all but fled the room the same way Amaya did.

The silence was deafening as Sakura leaned against the counter, arms braced far apart. She finally looked up and around. Her eyes landed on Pain.

"Did you know she was considering this?" she asked, voice low.

He shook his head. "No," he stated, face a tangle of hard lines. His hair was wet from the shower, some spots sticking up in odd angles. "I'm assuming no one did."

Everyone remained silent or shook their heads to some degree in agreement. No one had expected this.

It had been three years since Amaya had come back to them from the Exams in Konoha, broken and messy. Afterwards, her daughter was not the same carefree spirit she had once been and Sakura longed for the little girl she had been.

Suddenly, she was moving with a purpose, drying her hands on a towel and heading towards the hallway.

"Sakura, leave her be," Pain warned, holding his hands out and standing in the middle of the doorway. "She needs to process the decision. Did you—"

"Let me by, Pain. I need to talk to her," Sakura replied, voice shaky.

"Leave her be, Sakura, she—"

She met his gaze, fear and fury in her own eyes. "No, I cannot do this again. I won't. I cannot lose more of her. She is finally— _finally_ —coming back to herself. She can't—"

"Sakura," Pain hissed, arms coming around her. Sakura vibrated in his arms, the emotions too much to handle. "She is not fourteen anymore. She is almost eighteen. It's been three years, almost four."

Sakura looked up at him, desperation in her eyes.

Pain looked around, and she felt the weight in the room then. Her shoulders went slack. "We all feel it. We almost lost her," he said, meeting all the eyes in the room before his eyes finally locked onto hers. " _We_ almost lost her. We all have things to say to her. But if she is ready, we have to be as well."

Sakura pulled out of Pain's hold, looking around. Everyone bore somber looks, tense with unspoken words.

"Pain is right," Itachi spoke, breaking the silence. "She changed after the Exams. We all felt it, even if she can't. We know."

"She never said she was going," Kisame said, hopeful. He cared for Amaya. Everyone did, so this announcement added to their concern for her. Especially after she almost—

"You know she's going to, though," Deidara interjected, picking up his knife to make another sandwich. "We all knew she was going to try again eventually. It's in her nature. She failed, came back, trained harder than we ever imagined, and now she is ready to succeed this time. We should support that, or she will be so distracted she fails. You all know that."

"She will keep going until she is unable to," Kisame remarked, arms crossed. "She is just like her mother."

Sakura sighed, "I know. I know all of this. I do."

"We are all her family. Why do you think we haven't stopped her from stealing those Class A missions? She needed to feel herself growing in her own way, not being forced to slowly progress. She is growing more each day, and she needed to realize that," Deidara said, biting into his sandwich and hopping up onto the counter.

He met Pain's narrowed gaze and shrugged. They really hadn't made an effort to keep her from stealing the missions, for reasons that he had stated. But it was less for them to do as well. He sheepishly grinned and said, "Sorry."

Sakura came back to sit on a bar stool, one hand rubbing her forehead in worry and contemplation. She had seen first-hand the aftermath of what the Exams did to her daughter. Amaya hadn't spoken a word of what had happened to anyone. Sakura knew it was unhealthy, but any effort to try to coax the story out of Amaya only made her daughter shut down even more. Sakura knew the exams were dangerous; she had taken them with Naruto and Sasuke years before. She had feared for her life. People had died. But, in Amaya's case, Sakura only had the official story to go on. Not Amaya's.

Sakura leaned back, swiping her long hair behind her while sighing. "I just hope it doesn't kill her this time."

* * *

Hello everyone! I truly hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I will try to upload often! It is really great to be back with these characters and to craft a new story in the world they live in inside my head. This story came to me in the dead of night and literally will not leave me alone, just like the first one!

I am happy to say this again, but:

REVIEW! Please tell me how you liked this chapter, if you are excited this sequel is happening, and any hopes you have for the future of these characters!

Thanks everyone!

~Adoration (AKA Ella!)


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